Every commercial property owner in London is legally obliged to ensure a premise is safe and protected from fire breakouts. A quick look at the current UK legislation highlighting the presence of appropriate fire detection systems reveals the same. Unfortunately, not everyone is knowledgeable about the maintenance of a fire alarm system and unaware of the right approach to testing it.
This blog captures a checklist to enable readers to vastly improve the fire safety of their commercial premises. Read through it today to ensure your fire alarm detectors function properly during emergencies and safeguard the lives of workers and your property.
Building Safety Laws for Fire Alarm Maintenance
According to the British Standard BS 5839, a commercial building must have a maintenance contract to ensure zero faults and that the system functions properly. This is essential for the safety of occupants in the case of a fire mishap. As per the British Standards, testing fire alarm systems is mandatory twice a year for those installed during 2002 or later. On the other hand, quarterly testing is necessary as per the previous maintenance and safety standards for the installation of older systems.
Signs Your Fire Alarm System Requires Maintenance and Servicing
Before we dive into the checklist, let’s view the most common problems encountered by fire alarm systems:
- Your Fire Alarm is Lying Under Layers of Dust
Believe it or not, dust and grease accumulation can hamper the functioning of fire alarms. Most of them go off when they are not supposed to. Professional servicing ensures the placement of fire alarm detectors in an appropriate environment.
- The Devices are Connected to Faulty Batteries
It’s easy to test if your fire alarms are operating properly. Press the button on one and check for yourself. When the commercial building you have installed them into is large, make sure they have a backup electricity supply and backup battery system in place. In the case of a fire hazard, these will ensure the safety of staff.
- Fire Alarms are Unevenly Distributed
Fire alarms must be distributed evenly across commercial buildings, including installations in winding corridors, different floors, and rooms where many people are working together. The intention is to alert people when there is a fire so they can evacuate immediately.
Fire Alarm Maintenance Checklist
While the common problems discussed in the earlier section provide insight into the need for fire alarm change, those are inadequate to maintain the safety of commercial buildings alone. Therefore, here is a checklist to ensure the devices are up to the mark:
- Monitor the Control Panel
Fire alarm control panels, alternatively FACPs, are the central hub of operations. They are of two different types: conventional and addressable. Both are points of origin for human interaction and report back alarms, trouble, and supervisory conditions. Check the alarms installed into your commercial premises and determine if there is an immediate threat to your property, the system is experiencing a glitch, or anything abnormal is occurring within the system.
- Run Weekly Tests on Alarms
It is vital to undertake a fire alarm test to check if the equipment is working properly. Monitor all the system parts that appear on the control panel and take notice to ensure every part is communicating and receiving messages.
- Record Issues for a Professional to Rectify
An ideal way to comply with safety regulations in London is by testing fire alarms and recording problems for a professional engineer to address. It streamlines the process and saves their precious time.
- Check for Damage
Simply take a walk around the building to ensure the casings are intact, the wires are not protruding and the devices are well secured to ceilings and walls.
- Assess Alarm Audibility
Alarms must be loud enough for people working in noisy environments and spaces where background music is playing to hear. Hiring an engineer not only ensures audibility but also blinking of visual strobe lights for people with hearing impairments.
- Address False Alarms
False alarms from environmental factors and dust accumulation not only disrupt business operations but also make people less sensitive to real emergencies. Hiring an engineer every six months minimises the occurrence and troubleshoots the system issues to maintain reliability.
Since it’s challenging for individuals to deal with all the issues at once, professional fire safety services exist. Arrange for an expert to come forward and look into the matter, ensuring the safety of the commercial building and compliance with the BS 5839 regulations.
Invest in a Comprehensive Fire Alarm Servicing Contract from IQ Fire Solutions!
IQ Fire Solutions, a BAFE-accredited company with 20 years of experience, can help you to remain compliant with British standards. It arranges biannual and annual maintenance of fire alarm systems to protect commercial establishments. The best part is that we monitor all devices, whether they were installed by us or someone else.
Our fire alarm servicing contract provides coverage of a minimum of two regulatory service visits. We make it four for higher-risk premises. There is also the advantage of communicating with us 24/7, for adhoc advice, emergencies, or technical assistance. To know more about the benefits of choosing us over other BS 5839-approved engineers, request a callback by filling out our form.
